Electric house-heating furnace.



A. C.FINGERLE.

. ELECTRIC HOUSE HEATING FURNACE.

APPLICATION FILED Aus.4. Isls.

1,216,101. Patented 1161.111917.

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` ELECTRIC HOUSE HEATING FURNACE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.4.,I9I6. I 1,216,101 Patented Feb. 13, 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

A. C. FINGERLE.

ELECTRIC HOUSE HEATING FURNACE. APPLICATION FILED 1m11.191s.

1,216,101. Patented Feb. 13,1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

@wfm/ Mar/2% UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

AUGUST FINGERLE, OF MODESTO, CALIFORNIA.

ELECTRIC HOUSE-'HEATING FURNACE.

Application filed' August 4, 1916` To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, AUGUST C. Fi'NonnLii, a citizenv of the United States, residing at Modesto, in the county of Stanislaus and State of California, have invented new and usefuly Improvements in Electric House- Heating Furnaces, of which the following is a specifica-tion.

My present invention relates to improvements in furnaces of the type adapted for use in the heating of rooms or apartments of houses, andthe primary object of the invention is to provide an electricfurnace 'which is capable of efficiently heating the rooms or apartments of a house, the furnace being provided with means whereby its operation may becontrolled easily from any room or apartment or other distant point.

To these and other ends, the invention consists in certainA improvements, and combinations and arrangements of parts, all as will be hereinafter more fully described, the novel features being pointedout particularly in the claims at the end of the specification.

In' the accompanying drawings Figure l represents a central vertical section throughA an electric furnace constructed in accordance with the present invention,

Fig. 2 represents a bottom plan view showing the electric heating plate or unit removed from the furnace.

Fig. 3 represents a transverse section through the furnace onl the line 3 3 of Fig. l.

Fig. il represents a vertical section through aportion of the heating plate or unit showing two of the heating coils thereon, and

Fig. is a detail perspective view showing the inner door of the furnace and the inneropening of the furnace which is adapted to be closed or uncovered by this door.

Similar parts are designated by the same reference characters in the several views.

The preferred embodiment of the invention shown in the accompanying drawings and will be hereinafter described in detail. lt is to be understood, however, that the invention is not restricted to the precise construction and arrangement shown, as modifications and changes may be made therein to suit different requirements, and these modifications and changes will be included within the scope of the claims.

In the present instance l represents a cel- Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 13, 1917.

serial No. 113,149.

lai or other compartment which is located below the rooms or apartments which areto be heated. The electric furnace isi pref-v erably located in this cellar or compartment. Preferably, and as shown, a hollow base 2, for exampley of concrete, is provided, this base rising from the floor 8 of the cellar and forming a vertical flue a for the supply of air to the furnace. This line l communicates with an intake or cold air fluer 5 which may be located beneath the cellar floor, and cold air is supplied to the flue 5 by a cold air shaft 6.

The furnace comprises an outer shell 7 which is composed, preferably, of cast iron of appropriate thickness it being annular` in cross-section, as shown in Fig; 3, and having its upper portion S flared outwardly ory enlarged to provide aheated air chamber or dome. The outer cast iron shell 7 rests on the top of the basey 2' and it contains an inner shell or lining 9 which is preferably composed of galvanized iron, a dead air space l being provided between the outer and inner shells for the purpose of reducing, so far as is possible, loss ofheat to the eX- terior of the furnace by radiation or conduction, while at the sznie time the inner shell acts to radiate or distribute the. heat to the incoming cold air which enters the furnace through the flue 4 in the base.

The: electrical heating unit is arranged preferably on the top of the inner shell 9; As shown in the present instance it comprises a plate 11 composed of a suitable refractory material such, for example, as clay, it being preferable to make this plate of Lincoln clay found in the Sacramento valley, California, and which contains no' iron, this plate having anY appropriate number of bobbinsl formed thereon and projecting downwardly from its lower face. These bobbins are preferably of approximately conical form, each bobbin having a coil 13 of resistance wire of appropriate size wound thereon. The bobbins l2. are preferably arranged in concentric annular rows on the under side of the plate, as shown in Fig. Q. The plate is also formed with apertures lll, l and 1G arranged preferably in three concentric annular rows, as shown in Fig. 2', and a row 17 of apertures of larger diameter are preferably arranged in alternating relation with the apertures 15. The coils of resistance wire on the various bobbins are connected preferably in series with one another and to an appropriate source of electric current supply whereby the flow of current through these coils on the bobbins will heat the coils and the heat so generated will be transferred to the air passing through the furnace. The heat generated by the heating of the Wire coils is thoroughly distributed to the air passing through the furnace owing to the distribution of the various apertures or holes in the plate 11 relatively to the heating coils thereon. By placing the heating coils on the under side of the plate, the heat is radiated effectively to the air before the air reaches the plate and, furthermore, the plate 11 itself becomes heated and thus acts as a medium for the uniform and thorough distribution of the heat to the air passing through it as well as the air above the plate. To permit access to be had to the interior of the furnace, particularly for the purpose of enabling the plate ll with the heating coils thereon. to be removed for inspection or other purposes and replaced, it is preferable to provide a door 1S to cover and uncover an opening of appropriate size in the outer shell 7 and a door 19 to cover and uncover an opening of appropriate size in the inner shell 9. The door 18 may be hinged to swing horizontally. while the door 19 may be arranged to slide vertically, as shown in Fig. 5.

The hot air chamber or dome above the heating medium is covered by a cap 20 which is preferably of cast iron and rests on the upper peripheral edge of the flared portion 8 of the furnace. An inner sheet metal lining 21 is preferably applied to the inner side of the flared portion 8 of the furnace and a similar sheet metal lining 22 is applied to the inner side of the cover 20, these inner linings providing dead air spaces to minimize loss of heat to the exterior of the furnace by conduction or radiation. To further conserve the heat within the furnace, a galvanized iron or other covering 23 is preferably applied over the top of the cover 20, providing a dead air space to serve as a heat insulator'. A suitable number of outlets 24 lead from the hot air dome of the furnace and are connected by branch pipes 25 to the different rooms or apartments 26 which are to be heated. The number of branch pipes will depend upon the number of rooms or apartments to be heated, there being four branch pipes and four rooms or apartments shown in the present instance. Suitable dampers, as shown, may control the flow of heated air through the branch pipes to the respective rooms or apartments.

Preferably the operation of the furnace may be controlled from any room or apart- Gopiesof this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing theA Commissioner of Patents ment. To this end, an appropriate switch 27 is located in each room, and each switch controls the flow of electric current to the heating device through the wires 28 and 29.

I claim as my invention 1. An electric furnace of the character described comprising a. chamber for the passage of air to be heated, air-heating means embodying a plate composed of heat-radiating material arranged at the top of said chamber and having on its under side electric heating means for generating and radiating heat downwardly to heat the air in said chamber, and a dome arranged above said plate to receive and distribute the heated air from said chamber.

Q. An electric furnace comprising a chamber for the passage of air to be heated, airheating means embodying a plate having bobbins projecting downwardly from its under side and electric heating coils wound on said bobbins, and means for rcceivin g the heated air.

3. An electric furnace comprising a chamber for the passage of air to be heated, airlieating means embodying a plate having thereon electric heating coils and perforations, and a chamber above said plate to receive and distribute the heated air from said coils and perforations.

4. An electric furnace comprising a chamber composed of spaced inner and outer annular shells, heating means arranged in the upper portion of said chamber, and a chamber to receive and distribute heated air from the heating means, said latter chamber being composed of spaced inne and outer shells.

5. An electric furnace comprising a chamber composed of spaced inner and outer annular shells, a plate in the upper portion of said chamber supporting air-heating means, and doors in the inner and outer shells providing means for the removal of said plate.

6. In an electrical heating furnace, the combination of a chamber to receive air, a plate of refractory material arranged transversely in the upper portion of said chamber and having perforations therein, bobhins projecting downwardly from the under side of said plate and containing electrical heating coils, and a dome above said plate for receiving the heated air.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

AUGUST C. FINGERLE.

Vitnesses J. M. lVAL'ri-IALL, E. H. ZroN.

Washington, D. C. 

